24 replies to this topic

[whirlybird]

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I'd like more ports too

I just had a situation where I needed to copy a video file from my iPad and I was away from my iTunes. I definitely like the idea of having a port.

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What will it be like when you're competing for broadcast bandwidth (WiFi, etcetera) with millions of local devices, all trying to get into the "cloud"?

I would guess much slower than I'd like. And I agree that I would fear that I would either lose my content if there was some sort of crash on the iCloud or at least be without it for a long while.

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so I am using iCloud to some degree. Mostly to sync my address book and calendar.

I've only been using MobileMe to do the syncing and never got into iDisk.

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When do you think they'll start charging for iCloud connections.

My understanding is/was that you can store you Apple purchased items on the iCloud for free (at least for now) but you have to pay for non-Apple purchased items if you want to store them there. I have lots of non-Apple purchased stuff so that would cost me a lot. I have my iTunes on an external drive because it's way too big for my 1TB 27"iMac.

-Whirlybird

[Marguerite]

whirlybird, on 23 October 2011 - 03:39 AM, said:

My understanding is/was that you can store you Apple purchased items on the iCloud for free (at least for now) but you have to pay for non-Apple purchased items if you want to store them there. I have lots of non-Apple purchased stuff so that would cost me a lot. I have my iTunes on an external drive because it's way too big for my 1TB 27"iMac.

-Whirlybird

Right. But MobileMe started out free, too, back when it was .Mac. Then Apple decided it was worth $99/year. As I recall, that was even before it got its goofy name (at least, iCloud is an improvement over .me, although I've just about had it with the iEverything).

Thoth can speak for himself, but I suspect that's what he was referring to.

And yes, you can buy extra storage on iCloud for $20-50/year, which is very reasonable even compared to Dropbox. I haven't dashed to sign up, though, in part because I wonder how long the "introductory pricing" will last.
M

[whirlybird]

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that was even before it got its goofy name

I've only known MobileMe so I've had nothing to compare it to. I liked it because it would sync my iCal, Address book and a few other things between devised (Marguerite, I believe you mentioned this somewhere). The only other thing about .me that I like is that I have a .me email address which is nice and short and people, for some reason, are impressed with it although they have no idea it's an Apple thing.

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And yes, you can buy extra storage on iCloud for $20-50/year, which is very reasonable even compared to Dropbox. I haven't dashed to sign up, though, in part because I wonder how long the "introductory pricing" will last

Since I have a big external hard drive with an even bigger backup drive, is there any sense in going to the iCloud. Or is it that I can access my iTunes (which is associated with my iMac and its external hard drive) on my MacBook Air? I guess I'm not getting what the advantage is to the consumer.

-Whirlybird

[Marguerite]

There is an advantage to having important files backed up offsite, in case something happens to your house. There is also a disadvantage to having files backed up offsite (security, primarily: the backup companies swear everything is encrypted and accessible only to you, but are your banking records, say, really safe?). Other companies besides Apple offer backup services, and some have longer or better track records. Or at least they are less likely to pull the rug out from under you, which is essentially what Apple has done with MobileMe.

The advantage to iCloud is supposed to be a bit different. If you have apps on your Mac(s) and your iOS devices that are set up to work with iCloud (and that's a big if, at the moment), it will back up your documents and their changes without you having to do anything. So you can edit a file in Pages on your iPad, and next time you open the same file on your Mac, it will contain the changes. And since those iCloud-aware/Lion-aware apps also preserve previous versions of files, you benefit even if, like me, you tend to make a change, then decide that you like some of the previous wording and want to merge them.

That's how it works in principle. I haven't tried it myself, though.
Best,
M

[whirlybird]

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in case something happens to your house

I guess I was thinking why I would want to send out my personal files out to an unknown location for unknown things to happen to it. You have stated a very good reason to have an off-site backup. And you also bring up great points such as how reliable a backup company is and how safe is their encryption. Since I, like you, have MobileMe I thought it would be around for awhile and not go away like the dodo bird.

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it will back up your documents and their changes without you having to do anything. So you can edit a file in Pages on your iPad, and next time you open the same file on your Mac, it will contain the changes. And since those iCloud-aware/Lion-aware apps also preserve previous versions of files, you benefit even if, like me, you tend to make a change, then decide that you like some of the previous wording and want to merge them.

I've just signed up at DropBox now that I've downloaded the Storyist iPad version with my birthday money (I feel like a ten year old kid). Haven't used it yet and don't even know how. If all goes according to Apple plans, would be able to use the iCloud instead of DropBox to see the changes to our manuscripts, etc from say our iPad to iMac and then back again? Thus far, I've saved all my changes to my Storyist story on my Air and iMac with a USB. Since it's timestamped more than once I've gone back to the previous day's version because I found that I didn't like my newest revision.

-Whirlybird